Young mathematicians collect data on the arm spans of classmates. Then they sort the data by measures of center, spread, and standard deviation. Finally, they compare groups, such as boys and girls, to interpret any differences. 

It is hard to determine whether there is a relationship with the categorical data, because the numbers are so different. Working with a familiar two-way table on super powers, the class determines relative frequencies for each...

Show your classes how different means can represent the same data. Individuals collect household size data and calculate the mean. Pupils learn how handling of the data influences the value of the mean. 

Is time on your side? Pupils come up with an experiment to test whether their classmates can guess how long it takes for 30 seconds to elapse. They divide the class data into two groups, create box-and-whisker plots, and analyze the...

How does your data stack up? A hands-on activity asks pupils to collect a set of data by measuring their right-hand reach. Your classes then analyze their data using a free online software program and make conclusions as to the...

How do you summarize data that cannot be averaged? Using an exploratory method, learners complete a two-way frequency table on super powers. The subject matter builds upon 8th grade knowledge of two-way tables. 

Random sampling is as easy as choosing numbers. Teams use random numbers to create a sample of book lengths from a population of 150 books. The groups continue by developing a technique to create samples to compare from two populations...

Determine whether there is a difference between two grades. Teams generate random samples of two grade levels of individuals. Groups use the mean absolute deviation to determine whether there is a meaningful difference between the...

Increase your sample and increase your accuracy! Scholars complete an activity that compares sample size to variability in results. Learners realize that the greater the sample size, the smaller the range in the distribution of sample...

What constitutes a fair game? Scholars learn about fair games and analyze some to see if they are fair. They extend this idea to warranties and other contexts.

Use the power of mathematics to find the number of red chips in a bag — it's a little like magic! The activity asks learners to collect data to determine the percentage of red chips in a bag. They calculate the margin of error and...

The teacher demonstrates how to use a graphing calculator to create box-and-whisker plots and identify critical points. Small groups then create their own plots and analyze them and finish by comparing different sets of data using box...

Do I stand or do I sit? The class plays a dice game where they must decide to either continue to stand and play or sit down and keep their points. After the game, groups discuss individuals' strategies and see connections to the...

Students explore the concept of percentages. In this math lesson plan, students throw paper at wastebaskets as if shooting a basketball in a hoop. Students shoot the paper a given amount of times and then calculate their shooting...

Learners compute the standard deviation for a given set of data. In this measuring dispersion lesson plan, students compute the mean, and then the distance from the mean for each data point. They find the standard deviation of the data.

Is baseball really the road to riches? Here, statisticians look at salary data from baseball players and use variance to measure the spread of the data to more accurately answer that question. Note: The salary data provided is from 1994,...

Students see that there are mathematical rules that can affect our use of the English language. Calculate the probability of picking any letter at random from a piece of English literature.

Students open a blank spreadsheet and format it for a class survey about the number of shoes owned by the men and women in the class. They enter the data before finding the mean, median, mode, quartiles, variance, and the standard...

Students use a spreadsheet to compute landmark statistics of a math quiz. This lesson can be ongoing throughout the school year and it integrates mathematics curriculum and technology in a simple format for student use.

Students perform different activities to better explain that the word "Average" has 5 different meanings.

Statisticians analyze a data set of student IQs by finding measures of central tendency and dispersion such as mean, median, mode, and quartiles. They practice using a graphing calculator to find the values and analyze box plots and...

Compare different random sampling types using an archaeological setting. Scholars collect data from an archaeological plot using simple random samples, stratified random samples, systematic random samples, and cluster random samples....

To understand how biased data is misleading, learners analyze survey data and graphical representations. They use that information to design their own plans to collect information on consumer thoughts about Chocolicious cereal. 

Seeing is believing. Given several bivariate data sets, learners make scatter plots using the online SeeIt program to visualize the correlation. To get a more complete picture of the topic, they research their own data set and perform an...